Toy Project Group Discussion

Overview:
You have been working at the Willie Wonka Toy Factory for approximately 6 months
now. Your supervisor has given you your 6-month employment evaluation, which was
excellent. As a result of your great work, your supervisor has informed you that he has
chosen you to be tasked with developing educational toys for children. You are excited
about this opportunity and readily agree to tackle this challenge.
You are assigned to the Research & Development (R&D) Toy Concept Committee.
Your instruction is to create a prototype for a NEW, developmentally appropriate,
educational toy.
The committee chair (Instructor) reminds you that the toy is an organic, dynamic
process, therefore, it is not possible to detail all that must go into developing your toy or
final write-up. What is written below is to serve as a guide to your open-ended, creative
process. You are the creator, the researcher, and the developer. You will take this
project from idea inception to presenting ideas for a prototype model. You are not
actually making a physical toy, but are presenting the ideas in a PowerPoint written
format. Pictures and/or graphs should be included.
Timeline:
Units 1-4. Begin your work on this PowerPoint project in unit 1. The literature
review (#2 from the guidelines) can be particularly time-consuming, so start
searching for relevant articles right away. Continue work on the PowerPoint
through unit 4.
Unit 5. Your PowerPoint will be due at the end of unit 5. Your instructor will
assign you to a group. You will upload your PowerPoint to your Group
Discussion Forum by Sunday 11:59 PM EST.
PSY201 Child Development
Toy Project
Unit 6. Within the group discussion, the goal is to collaborate with your group
members to peer review and evaluate the merits of your projects using the
PowerPoint grading rubric provided below. Focus your discussions on the
strengths of the content of the presentations, as well as identifying areas that
could be elaborated on or improved. It is important that feedback be constructive
and respectful. Your participation in this group discussion will be graded. Refer
to the Group Discussion Grading Rubric below.
Unit 7. Revise your PowerPoint by incorporating the constructive feedback
provided within your group. Submit your revised PowerPoint for grading. Refer
to the PowerPoint Grading Rubric below.
PowerPoint Presentation Guidelines:
Your PowerPoint presentation should address the following:
1. Name and Aspect of Development: Name your toy and identify the aspect of
development (e.g., cognitive, linguistic) your toy addresses.
2. Literature Review: Find and discuss at least three scholarly articles that provide
relevant background information on the area of development you are targeting
(e.g., cognitive, linguistic)
3. Toy Description: Describe the novel toy you created including the dimensions
and features of your final prototype and graphics and/or pictures. What is the
function of your toy? How does it work?
4. Function/Developmental Relevance: How does your toy enhance any aspect of
development?
5. Marketability: What is the target gender, age, location, and any other subject
variables that apply? How is this toy necessary? How does it fill a void in the toy
market? How is your toy an improvement over existing models already on the
market?
6. Bias: Is there any bias associated with your toy? Address any bias issues
relating to culture, gender, abilities/disabilities, etc. How could you modify your
toy to meet the needs of other cultures, abilities/disabilities?
7. Conclusion: Provide concluding remarks including ideas for future product
improvement.